These May Only Interest Me, But…

Before get started, how do you like the new look of the page?  Just seems a little more serene and thought-provoking.  Like the old saying goes, if you cant impress ‘em with your smarts, divert their attention.

Anyway, been some things in the news which have caught my attention.  May only interest me, but, they might interest you, too.  So, if you’re curious about what piques my interest, here we go:

• Jaime Escalante died this week.  You may be asking who he is.  He was the inspiration for the movie Stand and Deliver, starring Edward James Olmos and Lou Diamond Phillips.  Mr. Escalante was a math teacher in an inner-city school.  You know, the schools where no one is supposed to be able to learn?  Anyway, he started teaching advanced math classes such as calculus and his students became some of the best students in the country.  He proved attitude has more influence than conditions, which is something I’ve thought for a long time.  It’s easy for kids to lay blame on someone or something else if adults do it, too.  Just something to think about when you’re talking to your kids.  RIP, Mr. Escalante;
• Been seeing a lot of headlines about the Sandra Bullock/Jesse James situation.  Who is cheating on who with whom?  Why did they do it?  Who will be filing for divorce?  Why should we care?  If he cheated on her, that should be between them and not played out in all the tabloids.  Would this really be a story if she hadn’t won the Oscar this year?  Hard to say for sure, but I doubt it.  Barely know who he is and she hadn’t really been heard from in a long time until The Blind Side came out.  Am I saying he shouldn’t have cheated on her?  Absolutely not.  Just wishing the media would leave them alone, or at least her, anyway;
• Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder was killed in Iraq in 2006.  A Baptist church out of Iowa decided to protest the war during his funeral.  His father Albert Snyder filed suit against the church for invading the privacy of the funeral and causing even more distress than was already there.  The initial jury awarded him millions of dollars.  The appeals court not only overturned the award but ordered Mr. Snyder to pay the church’s legal bills.  Now, can understand the court saying the church had the right to free speech since they were protesting outside the funeral in a public place.  Freedom of speech even applies to idiots as long as they are not inciting violence or anything like that.  But, it’s a real slap in the face of Mr. Snyder to be ordered to pay the legal fees for the church in my opinion.  Would not consider this a frivolous lawsuit.  Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything.  The funeral for someone who died for your freedoms is not the place for an anti-war protest.  Anyway, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Mr. Snyder’s appeal.  Hope they have some sense about ‘em;
• President Obama has decided to open up some of the oil fields along the Gulf Coast and Virginia which have been closed for the last 20 years.  Now, you would think the Pubs would be happy and the Dems would be upset.  Well, at least one Pub has said it didn’t go far enough.  Some Dems are supporting it while others are leery about environmental concerns.  Obama started his presidential campaign by saying he was agin it but would open them up if there was scientific proof it would help.  Guess he found it somewhere.  Can’t imagine there’s enough oil in those reserves to make even a tiny dent in our needs.  But, have to give him credit for trying to appease the other side of the aisle on at least one issue.  I’ll give you a little oil in exchange for signing a health bill few people in the public are happy with.  Seems like a fair trade, huh?;
• Heard about Pat Venditte?  He’s a right-handed pitcher for the Yankees.  No, he’s a left handed pitcher for the Yankees.  No, oh, heck, he throws with both hands.  Just depends on which side of the plate the batter stands on.  Has a six-fingered glove so he can switch it back and forth.  Now, it’s amazing enough when anyone is talented enough to pitch a baseball at the professional level.  Hard to imagine having that kind of talent in both arms.  He’s still in the minors for now, but he may make it to The Show before too long.  Will have to keep an eye out for him;
• Most of you know I’m an Alabama Crimson Tide fan through and through.  But, saw a story this week where one of Auburn’s recruits (who picked AU over UA for some reason) was diagnosed with leukemia this week.  His name is Shon Coleman.  Has to be very tough to hear this kind of news when it seems you have everything going for you, especially for an athlete of his caliber.  My thoughts and prayers go out to him for his recovery and to his family for their comfort.  War Eagle, Shon!;
• As you may have seen on the left, decided to join the Twitter world last week.  My screen name is ScotPS23.  Some interesting people to follow on there.  Decided to follow Dr. Alan Zimmerman.  He wrote a note to thank me.  He mentioned my twins so know it wasn’t just some standard reply.  Was pretty excited about that.  It’s a great way to keep up with the news if you want.  The thing I wasn’t expecting is some of the businesses who decide to follow you.  Guess it’s in the hope you will follow them.  Had a couple of sports gambling and a vitamin store start following me.  Didn’t return the favor so they dropped me.  Oh well.  Try to provide an update on my thoughts several times during the day.  It’s a good release if nothing else;
• The more I hear “Mother” from Pink Floyd’s The Wall, the more I appreciate it’s melodies.  Could listen to it over and over again without the lyrics.  They are a little too Oedipal for me.  But, it has my second-most-favorite David Gilmour guitar solo in it.  Very nice.

Well, that’s all for now.  A little longer than I intended.  Hope one or two of ‘em interested you as much as they did me.  Thanks as always for making it this far.

Later.